Speed control apparatus for locomotives



H. L EMP Dec. 29, 1931.

SPEED CONTROL APPARATUS FOR LOCOMVOTIVES Filed July 17, 1930 IIIIIIIL rIl JIJ IIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIII. '1111i INVENToR. Hc amzLepz/J. BY 'f HIS ATToRNEx Parental Dec. 29,1931

UNITED STATES I Im, F GLEN EDGE, NEW- JERSEY, ABSIGNQB T0 INGEBSOLL-RAND GU- PATENT OFFICE Pm, 0F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, 'A CORPORATION 0l' NEW JERSEY stem common mana'rus vroza Lccomo'rivns mutation mea myY i7, imo. semi 1ro. 466,525. A

L combustion engine, of a locomotive. l

One object of the invention is to enableY the power controlling means of the engine to be conveniently actuated for accelerating .decelerating the speed of the engine and to remain in the various positions which .the power controlling means mayassume without being hindered in its movements or disturbed in its various power controlling positions by any relative displacement between the engine and thevarious portionsof the locomotive or vehicle whereon the engine and the control apparatus are mounted.

Another object of the invention `1s to enable the power controlling means to be actuated by suitable pneumatically operated de vices whiclithemselves may be controlled by either one of a plurality of control devices which may be located remotely from both the engine and the said pneumatic devices.

A further object is to enable the supply of power or fuel to a plurality of dis-associated and relatively remotely located. engines supported either on a single locomotive or on a plurality of locomotives to be controlled from either one ofa plurality of control stations located on-each locomotive.

Other objects are to assure synchronized operation of a plurality of engines remotely locatedwith respect to each other, to ob- 'viate the possibility of operating the engines at critical speeds for prolonged periods of time, and to aford a flexible and simplified speed controlling apparatus which will be ellicient in operation and inexpensive tc maintain.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention and in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a plurality of locomotives connected to operate in unison allg having the invention applied thereto, .an

. connected to the l sure fluid to the various vated devices wherewit Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view,`\prartly" in section, of a controlling apparatus.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and at first to Figure 1, A and B designate locomotives connected in this'instance by suitable coupling devices C. The locomotives A and B may be substantially identical in all their essential respects and it is there- I fore considered necessaryY to describe only one locomotivetogether with its auxiliary devices.

The prime mover of the locomotive A may comprise as illustrated, an internal combus-V tion engine D connected to drive the genera-tor E from which lead cablesF to a main motor G intended topropel the locomotive. The main motor G may be connected to the driving axle H of the locomotive A carried in.

any suitable manner, as for instance, by a,

pinion J carried by the motor G and meshing with a gear K mounted on the driving axle H and on the end of -which are mounted v traction wheels L.

The locomotives carry a suitable compreing unit, as for instance a compressor O, connected to an electric motor P whereby the said compressor O is driven. The motor P, like the main motor G, may also be suitably generator E as by means of conductors Q.

The compressor O is provided with a. suitable discharge pipe R for conveying compressed fluid, such as air, to a storage receiver S carried bythe locomotive, and from the storage receiver S leads a supply pipe T which is connected to a main supply or service pipe U extending longitudinally of the locomotive and carrying at its extremities flexible conduits or hose couplings V of any Well known type adapted to establish communication between the service lines of adjacent locomotive-s or trains of cars 'to which the locomotive may be connected. The supply or service line U may, as is customary, serve as the main conduit for supplying prespneumatically actulocomotives are usually equipped.

For simplicity of illustration, the engine D is Shown as being equipped with fuel controlling apparatus in the form of a carburetor W to which the fuel may be conveyed from a suitable source of supply by a con@ nection X. The carburetor W is accordingly provided with the usual choke or throttle valve Yv for controlling the admission of air to the various combustion chambers of the engine and thus also, in accordance with the well understood principle, the supply of fuel to the combustion chambers.

As is well known, one diculty frequently encountered in attempts at close regulation of the fuel supply to an internal combustion engine used as a prime mover for locomotives is that of maintaining the power or fuel controlling device, such as the throttle valve Y, in substantially lixed position during the running period of the locomotive. VThis is particularly the case where mechanical connections are employed lfor transmitting the movement of the manually operable devices, such as a. control lever, to the throttle valve Y of the carburetor, and more particularly during the time that the locomotive is in motion. It is during such times that, owing to irregularities in the track upon which the locomotive runs, the platform or Hoor upon which the engine and the different controlling apparatuses are mounted is distorted thus causing the engine and the controlling apparatus to shift their positions somewhat with respect to each other. Obviously when mechanical means are used for transmitting the motion of controlling devices to the throttle valve Y any condition which may serve to shift the position of the controlling device will, in consequence affect the position of the,

throttle valve Y and therefore the speed of the engine D.

According to the present invention 1t 1s contemplated to provide apparatus of extreme simplicity for controlling the throttle valve Y in such manner that, irrespective of any distortion of the floor of a locomotive, the throttle valve Y or any equivalent fuel or power controlling means may remain unaffected and thus insure against an involun tary departure from the desired speed of the engine D. A preferred form of the means provided to bring about this result comprises a cylinder Z having a plunger b therein which is pivotally connected, as by means of a rod c, to a suitable lever (l which may be ixedly secured to thc throttle valve Y. Preferably the plunger I) is provided with'a reduced portion e of larger diameter than the rod c, and to the free end f of which the said rod c may be connected.

Disposed within the cylinder Z and encircling the reduced portion e is a calibrated spring g which acts against the end of the plunger b to` oppose the movement of the plunger in the direction for increasing the fuel supply of the engine D. The opposite or rear end of the plunger b in this instance Vthe plunger b is conveyed thereto from the service line by a conduit which may be provided with suitable branches k and o to connect the conduit j with the service line U.

t The gloints of juncture of the branches lc and o wi the service line U are preferably near the extremities of the locomotive and at which points are preferably located suitable manual control stations designated generally; by p, the said control stationsbeing inter posed in -this instance in the branches k and o to'control communication between the serv ice line and the conduit y'.

The conduit j extends along the length of the locomotive and is provided at its ends with flexible hose couplings 1' to connect to similar couplings 1' carried by a conduit of the adjoining locomotive B. The conduit j is provided with a branch pipe s which is connected to the cylinder Z for supplying pressure iuid thereto to actuate the plunger b.

To the end that the pressure fluid for actuating the plunger b may be admitted into the cylinder Z in a simplified manner contemplated to eliminate the necessity of a multiplicity of settings of the. manually operable means whereby the admission of Huid is controlled to the cylinder Z, such manually operable means are in the form of control valves t forming the control stations p and encased by valve chests u to which the branches c and o and the service line U are connected. The-control valves t are of the rotary type and are shown as having central chambers 'v which' may be in constant communication with the service line U. In the walls of the control valves t are ports w which are adapted to register with the branches s and o for admitting pressure fluid to the cylinder Z.

lIn the peripheral surfaces of the control valves t, and preferably in the same transverse planes as the ports w, are partly annular grooves m which are adapted to establish communication between the branch pipes la and o and exhaust ports y in the casings u. On the peripheral surfaces of the control valves t and between the grooves a: and the ports lw are plain unbroken portions z which, when overlying the inlet openings of the branch pipes c and o, serve to seal said branch pipes and thus entrap any pressure fluid in the cylinder Z and the conduits leading thereto which may have been previously admitted to these elements by the ports w in the control valves t.

Means are provided for automatically augmenting the pressure fluid acting against the plunger b, whenever the pressure in the cylinder-Z has reached a predetermined value at which' it would move the plunger b and therefore the throttle valve Y into a position cor-` responding to the critical speed range of the engine D. The means provided for this purpose comprises a valve casing 2 having a valve chamber 3 therein .to accommodate a reciprocatory valve 4. In the casing 2 is a port 5 to which pressure iuid is supplied by a pipe 6 connected tothe service line U. The port 5 isintended to be controlled by the valve 4 and .Said valve is 'provided with lows a transverse port 7 which is adapted to regvalve 4. The spring 10 iscalibrated to yield to a certain predetermined pressure to which the valve 4 may be exposed in order topermit the valve to be shifted to a position wherein communication between the ports 5 and 7 may be established. The spring 10 is however preferably provided with means for varying the tension thereon, and to this end said spring is provided with an adjustable valveI seat 11 disposed in the casing 2 and.

adapted to be shifted or adjusted by a regulating screw 12 threaded in the end of the casing 2.

The operation of the apparatus is as fol- Let it be assumed that the service lines U and the conduits j of the several locomotives A and B are in communication in 1 the manner illustrated in Figure 1 and that the plunger b and the valve 4 occupy the positions shown in Figure 2. In these positions of the parts the throttle valves Y of the carburetors W which control the fuel admission to the several engines D will occupy positions to operate said engines D at what may be termed the idling speeds. The plungers b will then be held in retracted positions by the springs g acting thereagainst.

If then it be intended to accelerate the speed of the engines D all but one of the control valves t may be set in such positions that the blank orvunbroken portions z of the control valves t will overliethe respective branch, either o or k which they are intended to control. The remaining control valve t is then rotated to 4place its port w in registry with the branch associated therewith, as for instance, the branch k.

With the control valve t in this position pressure fluid will iiow through the conduit j and into the cylinders Z to actuate the plungers b associated with each carburetor in a direction for increasing the fuel sup ly to the engines D. This, as will readily iie observed, requires only one pressure admission position for the control valve, irrespective of the speed at which it may be desired to operate the engines, it being merely necessary to maintain the control valve t in this posiv tion until each throttle valve Y has been shifted to a position to assure the desired speed of the engines D.

After the required s ed has been attained the control valve tis s `fted to what may be trol valve, that is, to a position in which the unbroken portion z overlies the inlet end of the branch which it controls. The pressure termed the intermediate position of the conliuid admitted into the cylinders Z and the conduitsfconnecting the said cylinders with the control valve will then be entrapped therein. In consequence, the throttle valve Y will remain fixedly in the required positions for maintaining uniform speed of the engines. Inasmuch that all the plungers b are exposed to pressure iuid of identically the same value on one end and on the other end to springl pressures of the same vvalue it follows that each plunger b will have been moved and will be held in identically the same position and that therefore the throttle valves Y of each carburetor wil-l also occupy corresponding positions.

Whenever it is desired to operate the engines D at maximum speed the control valve t is pla-ced in a position to assure constant communication between the chamber v and the cylinders Z. In this lposition of the control valve t sutlicient pressure fluid will be admitted to the conduit y' and to the cylinders Z to actuate the plungers b throughout their entire-range of travel so that the free ends f thereof may abut the ends of the cylinders Z.

In these positions'of the plungers b the throt- I tle valves Y will occupy positions in which maximum fuel admission. to the engines D will be assured and the engines D will then operate at maximum speed.v

Whenever vthe exigencies of the work require a reduction in speed, the control valve t may be moved into a position in which its annular groove will establish communication between the branch pipe k and the exhaust port jz/ to bleed a portion of the pressure fluid from the cylinders Z or, if it be desired to reduce the speed of the engines to idling speeds, the control valve t may remain in this `position and in which case the pressure surfaces L of the plungers b are exposed only to atmospheric pressure.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that the control valve has only three positions, namely, two limiting positions and an intermediate position for actuating the plungers 7) and the throttle valves Y of the carburetors W to an infinite variety of positions and for maintainingthese elements in such positions unaffected by any relative displacement between the several controlling devices incident to distortion of the support or platform whereon they are mounted. In other words, to acce'lerate the speed of the enginesit is merely necessary to rotate the control valve z5 to one limiting position in which its port w registers with the adjacent branch of the conduit j.

The position of the plungers Z) and consequently the speed at which the engines D will thereafter operate depends entirely upon the length of time that the control valve 2f is held in this position. After the desired speed of the engines has been reached the control valve may be moved to an intermediate position in which the unbroken portion .e of the control valve will seal the conduit j. To decrease the speed of the engines or to reduce such speed to an idling speed the control valve t may be moved to another limiting position in which position the pressure fluid will beexhausted from the cylinders Z so that the springs g may act to restore the throttle valves Y lo the idling positions.

The manner in which the valve 4 operates to avoid the prolonged operation of the engines D at critical speeds is as follows: Let it be assumed that the value of the pressure acting against the plungers Z) to move the throttle valves Y to positions in which the engines D will operate at the critical speed is, say, fifty pounds. If then the spring l0 be adjusted to yield at a slightly lower pressure, as for instance forty-nine pounds, the pressure fluid flowing through the pipe 9 and acting against the end of the valve 4 will actuate the valve 4 in the direction of the spring 10.

During a portion of this movement of the valve 4 the port 7 in the valve will register with the port 5 and pressure fluid will then flow directly from the service line YU into the valve chamber 3, thence into the conduit 7' and into the cylinders Z. The pressure fluid thus admitted by the valve 4 will augment the pressure acting against the plungers to bring the pressure in the cylinders Z to such a value that the plungers b will be quickly shifted and cause the engines D to operate at a speed slightly in excess of what may be said to he the critical speed.

Upon the operation of the valve 4.- in the manner described and the consequent increase in pressure in the cylinders Z. the valve 4 will remain in the retracted position as long as the pressure in the cylinders Z remains dominant over that exerted by the spring l0. Upon moving the control valve t to a position for exhausting the pressure fluid from the cylinders Z the port 7 in the valve l again moves across the port 5 in the casing 2. Obviously there will then he an additional charge of pressure fluid from the service line into the conduit j. This newly admitted pressure fluid, however, will not be effective to disturb either the positions of the plungers b or to interfere with their retractive movement since then the conduit j is in communication with the atmosphere.

In practice the present invention has been found to be exceedingly efficient. -As will be readily apparent, it affords a simplified means of controlling the power supply of a plurality of engines mounted either upon separate supports of the same locomotive or upon dili'erent locomotives. It affords the utmost flexibility in the operation of the several controlling devices, however remotely located from the control station, and assures the operation of a plurality of disassociated engines in synchronism. Moreover, by reducing the control positions of the control Valves t to three in number an apparatus is provided whereby the operator of the locomotive is not required to set the control valve to a multiplicity of intermediate controlling positions in which each intermediate position is intended to be an indication of the speed of the engine.

The present device enables the operator to judge the performance of the engine entirely by the speed of the locomotive in somewhat thc same manner as an operator of an automobile regulates the speed of his engine as based upon the speed of the automobile or upon the varying conditions of the surface over which it travels.

I claim:

1. In a control apparatus for locomotives, the combination of an internal combustion engine and means for controlling the supply of fuel to the engine, a source of pressure fluid including a supply line, pressure-responsive means for actuating the first mentioned means. means for controlling the flow of pressure fluid directly from the supply line to the pressure-responsive means for actuating the first said means, and means for controlling the period of time for which the engine may be operated at a certain predetermined speed.

2. In a control apparatus for locomotives, the combination of an internal combustion engine and means for controlling the supply of fuelto the engine, a source of pressure fluid including a supply linev` pressure-responsive means for actuating the first mentioned means, manually operable means associated with the supplyline and being conspring-opposed means connected to actuate the first mentioned means, a control valve in the supply line to control the flow of pressure fluid to and from the pressure-responsive means, and spring-pressed valve means interposed between the supply line and the pressure-responsire means, said valve means being exposed to the same pressure as the pressure-responsive means and adapted to be opened by a predetermined pressure to augment the pressure in the pressure-responsive means, thereby accelerating the speed of the engine and thus avoiding the prolonged operation of the engine at a critical speed.

el. In a control apparatus for locomotives, the combination of an internal combustion engine and means for controlling the admission of fuel thereto, a source of pressure fluid including a supply line, pressure-responsive spring-opposed means connected to actuate the first said means, a manually operable control valve in the supply line to control the flow of pressure fluid to and from the pressure-responsive means, and an auxiliary valve automatically operative to augment the pressure in the pressure-responsive means whenever the pressure therein reaches a certain predetermined Vahle, thereby prevent ing the firstmentioned'means from remain` ing stationary in a position corresponding to the critical speed range of the engine.

5. In a control apparatus for locomotives, the combination of an internal combustion engine and means for controlling the admission of fuel thereto, a source of pressure fluid including a supply line, pressure-responsive spring-opposed means connected to actuat-e the first said means, a manually operable control valve in the supply line to control the flow of pressure Huid to and from the pressure-responsive means, and an auxiliary valve automatically operative to augment a certain predetermined pressure in the pressure-responsive means for accelerating the movement of the first mentioned means through a fuel controlling position corresponding to the critical speed range of the engine.

6. In a control apparatus for a plurality of locomotives intended to be operated in synchronism, engines on the locomotives, indiv1dual pressure-actuated power control means on each engine, a Vconduit affording communication between the control means, a control valve on one locomotive associated with the conduit to simultaneously control the flow of pressure fluid to all the control means, and means to control the period of time for which the engines may be operated at a certain predetermined speed.

7. In a control apparatus for a plurality of locomotives intended to be operated in synchronism, engines on the locomotives, individual lpressure-actuated power control means on each engine, a conduit affording communication between the control means, a control valve on one locomotive associated with the conduit to simultaneously control the flow of pressure fluid to and from all the control means, and means to control the period of time for which the engines may be operated at a certain predetermined speed.

S. In a control apparatus for a plurality of locomotivesintended to be operated in synchronism, engines on the locomotives, individual pressure-actuated power control means on cach engine, a conduit affording communication between the control means, a source of pressure supply including a supply line, a plurality of control valves on each locomotive interposed between the supply line and the conduit, either one of which control valves may serve to simultaneously control the flow of pressure fluid to and from all of the control means, and pressure actuated means to control the period of time for which the engines may be operated at a certain predetermined speed.

9. In a control apparatus for a plurality of locomotives intended to be operated in synchronism, engines on the locomotives, individual throttle valves on each engine, individual pressure-responsive spring-opposed means connected to operate the throttle valves, a conduit affording communication between the pressure-responsive means, a source of pressure fluid including a supply line, a control valve interposed between the supply line and the conduit to control the flow of pressure fluid to and from all of the pressure-responsive means, said control valve being movable to one position for simultaneously actuating the throttle valves to any .fuel controlling positions and being movable to another position for entrapping pressure fluid in the pressure-responsive means to hold the throttle valves immovable in any fuel controlling position, and means to automatically augment the pressure in the pressure responsive means whenever the pressure therein reaches a predetermined value, thereby preventing the throttle valves from remaining stationary in a position corresponding to the critical speed range of the engines.

10. In a control apparatus for locomotives, an internal combustion engine, means for controlling the supply of fuel to the engine, and means for momentarily augmenting the fuel supply when the engine reaches a predetermined speed.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

HERMANN LEMP. 

